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GW’s Jumbotron fell to the floor while undergoing maintenance

A couple of dramatic photos of the Jumbotron at George Washington’s Smith Center tilted on its side and resting on the midcourt “GW” logo circulated on social media and prompted alarm Tuesday afternoon.

“It looks far worse than it actually was,” a GW spokesman told The Washington Post in a phone interview.” Maintenance was being conducted on the scoreboard, so it was in a lowered position just above the floor when one of the winches on one side gave way. The photo that you’ve seen, that side fell to the floor. We have safety policies. Nobody was under the scoreboard. The only people in the building at the time were the maintenance workers who were working on the scoreboard. There were no injuries.”

The U.S. women’s basketball team defeated Japan, 102-87, on Monday night at the 5,000-seat Smith Center in an exhibition game ahead of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. The WNBA’s Washington Mystics played their second-round and semifinal playoff home games at Smith Center, but will host Game 3 and Game 4 (if necessary) of the WNBA Finals at George Mason’s EagleBank Arena due to a scheduling conflict.

The next scheduled event at Smith Center is a George Washington women’s volleyball match Friday. The spokesman said it’s too early to say whether the match will have to be relocated.

“The scene is being assessed right now,” he said. “We don’t know what, if any, damage was done.”

Scott Allen has written about the Capitals, Nationals, Redskins, Wizards and more for The Washington Post's D.C. Sports Bog since 2014. Before joining The Post, he wrote about high school sports for USA Today, developed courses for a Web-based training company, and worked as a reporter and page designer for the Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune.

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